JIM KIRKPATRICK
BAND

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During lockdown Jim's sophomore album, Prodigal Son, finally hit (the deserted) streets... and what a piece of work it is. 

'Critical acclaim' doesn't begin to describe what they said about it. It was not just the blues world that got their knickers in a twist but the classic rock lads were beside themselves with it as well.

 

Suddenly Jim was feted by everyone lucky enough to get a listen to one of the best blues rock albums to be offered to the public in a very long time.

No surprise to me dear reader, but then Jim K, is the single most important and most booked artist ever to play Bluefunk, since its very inception. A visit from Jim was never, and will never, be a disappointment.  

I personally loved his debut solo album 'Changed Piorities' and I grew old waiting for his 'Ballad of a Prodigal Son' to finally emerge.  Thank god I didn't die of old age before finally receiving my copy. I would have been really pissed.

In comparison this one, his third, comes to market with almost indecent haste.

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Eleven years have passed since we recorded Jim and Heavy Weather at Bluefunk for the Live release of Bootleg Series Vol 1, and it must have been 5 years before that when Jim's  'Changed Priorities' was released. 

 

It would be churlish to call him  a lazy bugger as during that time the number of releases with Jim's name attached as a player and/or writer has cruised into double figures, largely with FM and Chris Bevington Organisation,  although other notable artists are on the list as well.

The 4th, yes 4th release from Chris Bevington Organisation during that same period was released shortly before Prodigal Son and is another monster. Jim is featured heavily on all of them and wrote or co-wrote with Scotty much of the original material therein. 

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During that same period, Jim may well have clocked up half a million miles of touring, writing and recording with more bands than you can shake a stick at - Heavy Weather, CBO, FM, Bernie Marsden (RIP), Rhino's Revenge, Diesel, Band of Friends, JLS and on and on and on.......

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Whenever I see an artist described as 'the hardest working musician out there' I cannot suppress a loud guffaw. They have no idea.

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So, 'Dead Man Walking', - what's it like? Whaddyathink its like, this is Jim Kirkpatrick for god's sake. In what is a very good (post pandemic) year for releases it could easily make album of the year, both Blues/rock and Rock). It is actually a superb opus.

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